19 September 2019, Thursday
The sun is bright, the winds are calm – it’s a beautiful day in Bonavista. After another delightful breakfast , O and I seek out the Skerwink Trail. Skerwink is another name for the shearwater, a bird that skims the waves for food. As usual, both our GPS and the Maps app get the trailhead location wrong. We finally find it by heading for Trinity East and Port Rexton. Once we get close, we find road signs pointing the way. The trailhead is well-marked and there is adequate parking.
The Skerwink Trail is just over 5 km long. It is not a difficult trail, but there are a few steep spots and lots of stairs. There are also a few places where we get close to cliff edges. On most of these sections there is tuckamore between the trail and the cliff edge providing a bit of a security blanket.
This trail is rated one of the top 30 hiking trails in North America and Europe, and it’s easy to see why. There are breathtaking views, sea stacks, beaches far below and the trail itself is very well-maintained. In fact, we meet two men who are working on replacing deteriorating planks as we hike. O and I take our time as we walk the trail, enjoying the views and the perfect weather.
After our hike we drive to Elliston in search of puffins. There are many other puffin-seekers out on the cliffs with the same mission. Rumor has it that some people in town were overheard at breakfast saying they had spotted a few of the birds this morning. Locals, however, tell us puffin season is past and the birds have all gone to sea for the winter. O and I find no puffins, but the walk out on the cliffs to the view point is worth the trip in its own right. There is incredible surf, stirred up by yesterday’s high winds, crashing on and over the cliffs. We see lots of gulls and cormorants. On the way back to Vincent we pass a beautiful red fox who appears to be quite unperturbed by the presence of humans. He has been busy eating berries in the evening sun.
O and I drive back to Bonavista, 10 minutes away from Elliston, to have dinner at Mifflins Tea Room. It’s the best dinner we’ve had here, although our other dinners were just fine. The western sky is a glowing orange-red as we walk back to Vincent and then return to our inn.